Automatic substrate storage device

Abstract

The invention relates to a substrate storage device, in particular to an automatic substrate storage device. Comprising a bearing seat, a transfer trolley, a trolley moving mechanism and a bearing seat pushing mechanism, the bearing seat is used for placing a substrate and enabling the substrate to be vertically placed on the transfer trolley, the trolley moving mechanism pushes the transfer trolley to move to a storage room and align to a storage station, and the bearing seat pushing mechanism pushes the bearing seat to move to the storage station from the transfer trolley; the device further comprises a top height adjusting mechanism, and the top height adjusting mechanism can freely move in the vertical direction of the base plate and fix the base plate. According to the automatic storage device for the substrates, the substrates can be automatically stored and taken out, and the bearing seat can adapt to the substrates of different sizes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate storage device, and particularly to an automatic substrate storage device. Background Art

[0002] Substrates are important components indispensable in electronic devices, providing electrical connections and physical support for electronic components. During the production, transportation, and storage of substrates, the devices used to store substrates play a crucial role. An existing substrate storage device stores substrates by manually placing them into cassettes. In the actual manufacturing process of substrates, due to multiple processes, it is necessary to store substrates after the completion of each previous process and then take them out before the next process. This method of storing substrates using cassettes is extremely inconvenient and cannot be automated.

[0003] The size of such cassettes is limited and can only store one substrate. Moreover, when the substrate size is too large, it is very difficult for manual handling and the substrate is easily damaged. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Based on this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic substrate storage device that can automatically transport and store substrates of different sizes, improving the efficiency and safety of substrate storage.

[0005] An automatic substrate storage device includes a carrier seat, a transfer cart, a cart moving mechanism, and a carrier seat pushing mechanism; the carrier seat is used to place the substrate and make the substrate stand upright on the transfer cart. The cart moving mechanism pushes the transfer cart to move to the storage room and align with the storage station, and the carrier seat pushing mechanism pushes the carrier seat from the transfer cart to the storage station.

[0006] Further, the carrier seat pushing mechanism includes a first guiding roller and a carrier seat driving unit. The carrier seat moves on the bottom plate of the transfer cart through the first guiding roller, and the carrier seat driving unit pushes the carrier seat from the transfer cart to the storage station aligned with it, or pulls the carrier seat from the storage station aligned with the transfer cart to the transfer cart. The carrier seat driving unit can automatically push the carrier seat on the transfer cart to the storage station or pull it out from the storage station.

[0007] Further, the carrier seat pushing mechanism further includes a guiding seat provided on the top of the transfer cart. The guiding seat guides and limits the movement of the substrate and prevents it from tipping over. The guiding seat can limit the moving direction of the carrier seat and prevent the carrier seat from shifting when being pushed to the storage station.

[0008] Further, the carrier seat includes a base, a top seat, and at least one column, forming a frame structure that wraps the substrate; the base is disposed on the first guiding roller, and the top seat is embedded in the guiding seat and can slide along the guiding seat.

[0009] Further, the carrier seat pushing mechanism further includes a second guiding roller disposed in the guiding seat, and the top seat of the carrier seat can slide in the guiding seat through the second guiding roller, so as to reduce the frictional force when the carrier seat slides in the guiding seat.

[0010] Further, a height adjusting mechanism is further included, which can move in the vertical direction of the carrier seat and fix the substrate.

[0011] Further, the height adjusting mechanism includes a height adjusting driving unit and a sliding plate. The height adjusting driving unit drives the sliding plate to slide in the vertical direction of the substrate, and the sliding plate abuts against the substrate from above the substrate to adapt to substrates of different sizes.

[0012] Further, the height adjusting mechanism further includes a rising support plate and a rising limit plate disposed on the carrier seat; the height adjusting driving unit drives the rising support plate to rise or fall; the rising limit plate is disposed on the sliding plate, and when the rising support plate moves upward, it abuts against the rising limit plate and drives the sliding plate to move upward. When the height adjusting driving unit drives the rising support plate to move downward, the rising limit plate stops contacting the rising support plate, and the sliding plate freely slides downward under the action of gravity and abuts against the top of the substrate. When the sizes of the substrates are different, the sliding plate can slide above the substrate by gravity, so as to be applicable to substrates of various sizes.

[0013] Further, a substrate upper limit block is further disposed on the bottom surface of the sliding plate, and a substrate lower limit block is further disposed on the bottom plate of the carrier seat. A V-shaped groove is disposed on the bottom surface of the substrate upper limit block and the top surface of the substrate lower limit block, and the substrate can be embedded in the V-shaped groove on the bottom surface of the substrate upper limit block and the top surface of the substrate lower limit block to better fix the substrate.

[0014] Further, an infrared sensor is further included, which can detect the position of the carrier seat on the storage station after the carrier seat is pushed into the storage station, so as to ensure that the position of the carrier seat transported to the storage station is accurate.

[0015] Further, the cart driving unit can be a servo motor, a lead screw pulley mechanism, or a rack and pinion mechanism, the carrier seat driving unit is a servo motor, and the height adjusting driving unit can be a servo motor or a rodless cylinder.

[0016] For better understanding and implementation, the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Description of the Drawings

[0017] Figure 1 It is a top view of the structure of the substrate automatic storage device of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 It is a structural diagram of the carrier of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 It is a structural diagram of the transfer cart of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 It is a front view of the structure of the substrate automatic storage device of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 5 It is a side view and a top view of the structure of the carrier drive unit of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 6 It is a side view of the structure of the substrate automatic storage device of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

[0023] In order to solve the problem that the existing method of storing substrates through cassettes requires manual handling, which is extremely inconvenient, the present invention proposes a substrate automatic storage device. The substrate is installed on a carrier, and a transfer cart is used to transport the carrier to the storage station. The transfer cart is driven by a cart moving mechanism to align with the storage station, and finally the carrier on the transfer cart is pushed into the storage station by a carrier pushing mechanism, thereby realizing the automatic storage and retrieval of substrates.

[0024] Furthermore, with the development of modern electronic technology, the size of the substrates currently used in the production process is gradually increasing to meet the requirements of improving production efficiency and product enlargement. In order to enable the substrate automatic storage device of the present invention to have the function of adapting to different sizes of substrates, the substrate automatic storage device of the present invention is also specially designed with a height adjustment mechanism to fix substrates of different sizes, improving the ability of the substrate automatic storage device of the present invention to adapt to different sizes of substrates.

[0025] The following will describe in detail the solution of the substrate automatic storage device designed by the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Please refer to Figure 1, the substrate automatic storage device of the present invention includes a carrier 10, a transfer cart 20, a cart moving mechanism 30, a carrier pushing mechanism 40, and a height adjustment mechanism 50. The substrate A to be stored is placed on the carrier 10, and different storage stations B are arranged on the ground at a certain interval and in the same orientation. The carrier 10 is arranged on the transfer cart 20, and the cart moving mechanism 30 pushes the transfer cart 20 to move towards the storage station B, and the carrier pushing mechanism 40 pushes the carrier 10 to be transferred from the transfer cart 20 to the storage station B. The height adjustment mechanism 50 is arranged on the carrier 10 to further adjust the fixed position of the substrate A according to the height of different substrates.

[0027] Specifically, please refer to Figure 2 , the carrier 10 includes a base 12, two columns 14, a top seat 16, and a lower substrate limiting block 18. The two columns 14 are arranged between the base 12 and the top seat 16 to play a supporting role, and the base 12, the two columns 14, and the top seat 16 form a frame structure to enclose the substrate A. The lower substrate limiting block 18 is arranged on the base 12 of the carrier 10, and a V-shaped slot is arranged on the lower substrate limiting block 18 to place the substrate A on the lower substrate limiting block 18 and embed it in the V-shaped slot for fixation. When the substrate A is placed upright on the carrier 10, the two component mounting surfaces of the substrate A will be perpendicular to the ground.

[0028] Please refer to Figure 3 , the transfer cart 20 includes a bottom plate 22, two vertical rods 24, and a top plate 26. The two vertical rods 24 are arranged between the bottom plate 22 and the top plate 26 to play a supporting role, and the bottom plate 22, the two vertical rods 24, and the top plate 26 form a frame structure to enclose the carrier 10.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 4, the carrier seat pushing mechanism 40 includes a first guiding roller 42, a guiding seat 44, a second guiding roller 46 and a carrier seat driving unit 48. The first guiding roller 42 is arranged on the base 12 of the carrier seat 10 through a rotating shaft 13 fixed on the base 12 of the carrier seat 10 and can rotate self - sufficiently. The first guiding roller 42 can be embedded in a carrier seat slide rail 28 arranged on the transfer cart 20 to place the carrier seat 10 on the transfer cart 20. The base 12 can move relative to the transfer cart 20 through the rotation of the first guiding roller 42 in the carrier seat slide rail 28 on the transfer cart 20. The guiding seat 44 is arranged on the top plate 26 of the transfer cart 20 along the rotation direction of the first guiding roller 42 and is in the same plane as the carrier seat 10. A limiting groove is arranged on the guiding seat 44, and the top seat 16 is surrounded in the limiting groove of the guiding seat 44. The axis of the second guiding roller 46 is fixed on the limiting groove of the guiding seat 44 and can rotate self - sufficiently. The circumference of the second guiding roller 46 contacts the guiding seat 44 and the top seat 16. The top seat 16 can slide along with the rolling of the second guiding roller 46 to reduce the frictional force when the carrier seat 10 moves in the limiting groove of the guiding seat 44. The carrier seat driving unit 48 can push the carrier seat 10 to move on the transfer cart 20, so that the carrier seat 10 is pushed from the transfer cart 20 to the storage station B, or the carrier seat 10 is pulled out from the storage station B aligned with the transfer cart 20 to the transfer cart.

[0030] Please refer to Figure 5, in this embodiment, the carrier seat driving unit 48 is a lead screw mechanism, including a carrier seat lead screw 481, a carrier seat nut 482, a carrier seat cylinder 483, a carrier seat cylinder guide rail slider 485, a carrier seat servo motor 486, a carrier seat top block 487 and a carrier seat positioning plate 488. The carrier seat servo motor 486 and the carrier seat lead screw 481 are arranged on the bottom plate of the transfer cart 20, and their extending directions are the same as the extending direction of the carrier seat slide rail 28; a carrier seat nut 482 is fixed on the carrier seat cylinder 483, and the carrier seat lead screw 481 is inserted into the carrier seat nut 482 and cooperates with it; the output end of the carrier seat servo motor 486 is fixed to the carrier seat lead screw 481 and can drive the carrier seat lead screw 481 to rotate around its own axis. The carrier seat positioning plate 488 is erected on the base 12 of the carrier seat 10; a carrier seat top block 487 is fixed on the carrier seat cylinder 483, and the carrier seat top block 487 can be driven to eject outwards or retract inwards by the intake or exhaust of the carrier seat cylinder 483. When the carrier seat top block 487 ejects outwards, it is embedded in the positioning hole of the carrier seat positioning plate 488, so that the carrier seat cylinder 483 is fixed to the carrier seat 10. When the carrier seat lead screw 481 rotates, it can drive the carrier seat nut 482 and the carrier seat cylinder 483 to move in the length direction of the carrier seat lead screw 481, so that the carrier seat 10 is pushed from the transfer cart 20 to the storage station B. After that, the carrier seat cylinder 483 is deflated to retract the carrier seat top block 487 and withdraw it from the positioning hole of the carrier seat top block 487, and the carrier seat 10 is released from the fixation with the carrier seat cylinder 483. Then, the carrier seat servo motor 486 is used to drive the carrier seat lead screw 481 to rotate in the reverse direction and retract the carrier seat cylinder 483. Or in the same way, the carrier seat 10 is pulled out from the storage station B aligned with the transfer cart to the transfer cart 20. Further, it further includes a carrier seat guide rail slider 485. The extending direction of the carrier seat guide rail slider 485 is the same as the length direction of the carrier seat lead screw 481. The carrier seat cylinder 483 is also fixed on the carrier seat guide rail slider 485 and can slide along the extending direction of the carrier seat guide rail slider 485. The carrier seat guide rail slider 485 guides the moving direction of the carrier seat cylinder 483, and at the same time can reduce the pressure borne by the carrier seat lead screw 481 and prevent damage.

[0031] In another embodiment, the carrier seat driving unit 48 can be a carrier seat driving motor arranged on the carrier seat 10, and the carrier seat driving motor can directly drive the carrier seat 10 to move on the transfer cart 20 or the storage station B. Or, the carrier seat driving unit 48 can be any linear motion mechanism.

[0032] The trolley moving mechanism 30 includes a support base 32, a trolley driving unit 34, and a guide rail 36. The support base 32 is fixed on the ground. The guide rail 36 is arranged on the support base 32 and adjacent to the storage station B. The extending direction of the guide rail 36 is the same as the direction in which the different storage stations B are spaced apart. A slider is arranged on the bottom plate 22 of the transfer trolley 20, and the slider is embedded in the guide rail 36 and can slide along the guide rail 36. The trolley driving unit 34 can drive the transfer trolley 20 to move along the direction of the guide rail 36, so that the transfer trolley 20 can align with different storage stations B in the extending direction of the guide rail.

[0033] In this embodiment, the trolley driving unit 34 is a lead screw mechanism, including a lead screw 341 and a motor 342. The lead screw 341 is arranged on the support base 32 and its extending direction is the same as the extending direction of the guide rail 36. The bottom plate 22 of the transfer trolley 20 is matched with the lead screw 341 through a nut. The motor 342 can drive the lead screw 341 to rotate self - adaptively, so that the transfer trolley 20 can move along the direction of the guide rail 36.

[0034] In another embodiment, the trolley driving unit 34 can be a trolley driving motor. The trolley driving motor can be arranged on the transfer trolley and can directly drive the transfer trolley 20 to move along the direction of the guide rail 36.

[0035] Or, in another embodiment, the trolley driving unit can be a gear - rack mechanism.

[0036] Furthermore, in order to enable the substrate automatic storage device of the present invention to adapt to substrates of different sizes, a height - adjusting mechanism 50 is also provided. Through the height - adjusting mechanism 50, the fixed position of the substrate A on the carrier 10 can be adjusted adaptively, so that the carrier 10 can adapt to substrates of different sizes.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 6, the top height adjustment mechanism 50 includes a top height adjustment driving unit 51, a rising support plate 52, two guide slide rods 53 provided on the carrier base 10, a sliding plate 54, an upper substrate limit block 55, and a rising limit plate 56. The two guide slide rods 53 are arranged between the top seat 16 and the base 12 of the carrier base 10 and are parallel to the column 14. The sliding plate 54 is sleeved on the guide slide rods 53 and can slide along the guide slide rods 53. The upper substrate limit block 55 is provided on the bottom surface of the sliding plate 54, and a V-shaped groove is provided on the upper substrate limit block 55 to facilitate embedding the substrate into the upper substrate limit block 55. The rising limit plate 56 is provided on the sliding plate 54, the rising support plate 52 is provided on the driving shaft of the top height adjustment driving unit 51, the top height adjustment driving unit 51 can drive the rising support plate 52 to move in the vertical direction, and when the rising support plate 52 moves upward, it can abut against the rising limit plate 56, thereby driving the sliding plate 54 to move upward. When the top height adjustment driving unit 51 drives the rising support plate 52 to move downward, due to the action of gravity, the sliding plate 54 moves downward, and the substrate A can be embedded into the V-shaped groove of the upper substrate limit block 55. When the size of the substrate A changes, the sliding plate 54 can slide above the substrate A by gravity to adapt to substrates of various sizes; and when adjusting the top height, the sliding plate 54 directly falls on the substrate A by the action of gravity, so that when the substrate A is placed on the carrier base 10, it is not necessary to know the specific size of the substrate in advance and it can adapt to substrates of different sizes, which helps to improve the storage efficiency.

[0038] In this embodiment, the top height adjustment driving unit 51 is provided on the top plate 26 of the transfer trolley 20. In another embodiment, the top height adjustment driving unit 51 of the top height adjustment mechanism 50 can be provided on the top seat 16 of the carrier base 10.

[0039] In this embodiment, the top height adjustment driving unit 51 is a rodless cylinder. The rodless cylinder is arranged vertically on the top plate 26 of the transfer trolley 20, and the rising limit plate 56 is fixed on the piston of the rodless cylinder. When the rodless cylinder pushes its piston to move in the vertical direction, the rising limit plate 56 can move in the vertical direction.

[0040] In another embodiment, the top height adjustment driving unit can be a top height adjustment driving motor, and the top height adjustment driving motor can directly drive the rising limit plate 56 to move in the vertical direction.

[0041] In actual use, first place the carrier base 10 on the transfer cart 20. At this time, the carrier base 10 is embedded in the carrier base slide rail 28 of the transfer cart 20 through the first guiding roller 42, and the guiding seat 44 wraps around the top seat 16 of the carrier base 10; the height adjustment driving unit 51 of the height adjustment mechanism 50 pushes the rising support plate 52 upward. After the rising support plate 52 rises to the same height as the rising limit plate 56 and the two come into contact, the rising support plate 52 abuts against the rising limit plate 56 and pushes the rising limit plate 56, the sliding plate 54, and the upper substrate limit block 55 to slide upward along the guiding rod 53, leaving a space for the substrate A to be installed in the carrier base 10. Then place the substrate A on the V-shaped groove of the lower substrate limit block 18 of the carrier base 10. By the height adjustment driving unit 51 of the height adjustment mechanism 50, the rising support plate 52 is pushed downward. The rising support plate 52 stops contacting the rising limit plate 56. The rising limit plate 56, the sliding plate 54, and the upper substrate limit block 55 slide downward along the guiding rod 53 under the action of gravity, and the substrate A is embedded in the V-shaped groove of the upper substrate limit block 55 to fix the substrate A. The transfer cart driving unit 34 of the cart moving mechanism 30 pushes the transfer cart 20 to move along the guide rail 36, so as to align the carrier base 10 with the storage station B where it needs to be placed. Finally, the carrier base driving unit 48 of the carrier base pushing mechanism 40 pushes the carrier base 10 into the storage station B. At this time, the base 12 of the carrier base 10 slides in the carrier base slide rail 28 of the transfer cart 20 through the first guiding roller 42, and the top seat 16 of the carrier base 10 slides upward in the guiding seat through the second guiding roller 46.

[0042] Preferably, an infrared sensor is further provided on the storage station B. The infrared sensor emits an infrared signal in the direction in which the carrier base moves into the storage station to detect the position of the carrier base 10 on the storage station B, so as to ensure that the carrier base is installed in place.

[0043] Compared with the prior art, the automatic substrate storage device of the present invention can make the carrier base adapt to substrates of different sizes through the height adjustment mechanism, and can align the transfer cart with the storage station through the cart moving mechanism. Then, the carrier base on the transfer cart is pushed to the storage station through the substrate pushing mechanism, so as to complete the automatic storage work of multiple substrates and can adapt to substrates of different sizes, solving the problem of difficult storage of substrates of different sizes.

[0044] The terms used in the embodiments of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application. The singular forms "a", "the", and "said" used in the embodiments of this application and the claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that unless otherwise stated, "a plurality" means two or more; the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used for distinction and not for describing a specific order or sequence, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. The term "and / or" used herein means any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. When the above description refers to the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. In the description of this application, for those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0045] The above-described embodiments only represent a specific implementation manner of the present invention. The description is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can be made, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A substrate automatic storage device, characterized in that: It includes a bearing seat, a transfer trolley, a trolley moving mechanism, and a bearing seat pushing mechanism; the bearing seat is used to place a substrate, and the substrate is placed upright on the transfer trolley, the trolley moving mechanism pushes the transfer trolley to move to the storage room and align with the storage station, and the bearing seat pushing mechanism pushes the bearing seat from the transfer trolley to the storage station.

2. The automatic substrate storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support seat pushing mechanism includes a first guide roller and a support seat driving unit. The support seat moves on the bottom plate of the transfer trolley via the first guide roller, and the support seat driving unit pushes the support seat from the transfer trolley to a storage station aligned with it, or pulls the support seat out from the storage station aligned with the transfer trolley to the transfer trolley.

3. The automatic substrate storage device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The bearing seat pushing mechanism further comprises a guide seat arranged on the top of the transfer trolley, and the guide seat guides and limits the movement of the substrate and prevents it from tipping over.

4. The automatic substrate storage device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bearing seat includes a base, a top seat and at least one column, forming a frame structure covering the substrate; the first guide roller is arranged at the bottom of the base and can rotate around its own axis, and the top seat is embedded in the guide seat and can slide along the guide seat.

5. The automatic substrate storage device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The bearing seat pushing mechanism further includes a second guide roller disposed in the guide seat, and the top seat of the bearing seat can slide in the guide seat via the second guide roller.

6. The automatic substrate storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The utility model also comprises a top height adjustment mechanism, which can move in the vertical direction of the bearing seat and fix the base plate.

7. The automatic substrate storage device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The top height adjustment mechanism comprises a top height adjustment driving unit and a sliding plate. The top height adjustment driving unit drives the sliding plate to slide in the vertical direction of the base plate, and the sliding plate abuts against the base plate from above the base plate.

8. The automatic substrate storage device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The top height adjustment mechanism also includes a rising support plate and a rising limit plate arranged on a bearing seat; the top height adjustment driving unit drives the rising support plate to rise or fall; the rising limit plate is arranged on the sliding plate, and the rising support plate presses against the rising limit plate when moving upward, and drives the sliding plate to move upward, and when the top height adjustment driving unit drives the rising support plate to move downward, the rising limit plate stops contacting with the rising support plate, and the sliding plate slides freely downward under the action of gravity and presses against the top of the substrate.

9. The automatic substrate storage device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The bottom surface of the sliding plate is also provided with an upper limit block of the substrate, and the bottom plate of the supporting seat is also provided with a lower limit block of the substrate. A V-shaped groove is provided on the bottom surface of the upper limit block of the substrate and the top surface of the lower limit block of the substrate, and the substrate can be embedded in the V-shaped grooves on the bottom surface of the upper limit block of the substrate and the top surface of the lower limit block of the substrate.

10. The automatic substrate storage device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: It also includes an infrared sensor, which can detect the position of the support seat on the storage station after being pushed into the storage station.

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